Morning Glory – Poets Were My Heroes

’m not going to pretend to know a whole lot about Ezra Kire of Leftover Crack fame.  Aside from his regular appearance as backup vocalist and guitarist and as a founding member of the short lived Choking Victim, he’s not a name that I’ve crossed paths with frequently.  Apparently his solo project, Morning Glory, garnered quite a following backing the early 00’s, but even that has sat dormant for several years – until now.

Apparently freshly back on solid ground after a lifetime affliction with heroin, Kire returns from rehab with a fresh (read: clean) outlook on life and a willingness to share his personal battles, failures, and triumphs with those who will listen.  Poets Were My Heroes is as telling tale that deserves those ears.  Without much knowledge of the band on my end, I wasn’t expecting much more from Morning Glory than just another freshly signed Fat Wreck Chords upstart; but these songs are instantly impactful and diversely entertaining.

Opener “Stevie Dinner” has received much praise for delivering context and developing a snapshot that transcends the present and envelops the past with prophetic vision.  “You should see what Stevie has for dinner, it comes in a little brown bottle, down at the liquor store” sing the words of an innocent six-year old Kire, revealing a home life filled with less than deserving role models.  A few songs later Kire confirms his own vices in an honest passage exasperating the futility of fighting his own demons: “I could be anything, I could be anything, I could be anything if I could stay clean.”  The follow-up and title track features a heartfelt piano intro exposing Kire’s vulnerability as a victim to his lifestyle.  “Baby please take care of me, I’m a wreck as you can see; I’ll do anything you ask of me, if you just, would hold me” – words that capture the shackles of addiction and circle of self-destruction.  A grand string section that sounds lifted fromEmmanuel And The Fear articulates just how high the personal stakes can climb.

Binding this thematic and at times abstract narrative is a masterfully diverse yet coherent collage of musical styles.  Each style works in harmony with the next, resulting in a chain of continuity and surprises.  Songs like the humming organ vigil “Touch” brilliantly balance the sloppy slurs and hounding choral “woahs” of successor “Patiently” with the jumpy bass line of the acoustic-guitar touting neighbour “Orphan’s Holiday.”  Anything goes on Poets Were My Heroes, and with Kire’s open-mind bending convention, experimentation is reward.

Album closer “Care Of Me” returns full circle to the title track for a quiet, piano-driven number in which Kire emotionally commits to cleaning up his life.  Reflective in nature, both words and tone acknowledge that success means vulnerability and a painful look inward.  In a world where going solo is born more from trend than purpose, Poets Were My Hero is a beacon of experience-driven principle worthy of standing alone.  If Morning Glory remains Kire’s chief mode of personal output, I anticipate learning about his next life chapter and wish him all the best.